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alpineFoxfire [AF] lays against the ground, her eyes swimming and glassy, blood pooling from the base of the broken antler. Tears streamed silently down her face and her paws were tucked up over her eyes. Everything hurt, but her brain, her brain was on FIRE.

dustyMoonlight [DM] The shadowy girl wasn't doing anything particularly exciting-- just exploring the undergrowth, enjoying the sound of brittle leaves under her paws. She wondered if she could drag Eira out of hiding today. Maybe they could go swimming! She stopped in her tracks then, smelling something metallic and sweet. Oooo blood! Maybe they'd let her mooch some dinner off whatever they killed. She trotted forward, humming gleefully, until--DM: ... Eira??

alpineFoxfire [AF] raised her head weakly at the sound of her name, but only stared at Umbra with distant eyes, like she wasn't actually seeing the things in front of her alpineFoxfire [AF] began to shiver, and then shake.

dustyMoonlight [DM] She feels numb all of a sudden, staring down at her best friend, covered in blood. What was she supposed to do in this situation? DM: What... happened?

alpineFoxfire [AF] continued to shake, pulling her ears back and staring blankly at Umbra, or beyond her. Her long, heavy tail lay limp around her.

dustyMoonlight [DM] She's moving forward, though she can't feel herself doing it. Who is moving her body? She tries to nose the side of Eira's neck. DM: Eira? What happened?

AF: Bodies in a river....flowers

DM: Huh?DM: You're bleeding. We have to go find my mom.

AF: A girl is falling off of a cliff. Or maybe already did. AF: I don't think we can help herAF: There's so much water

dustyMoonlight [DM] pulls back and looks at her, head tilted to the side. DM: I... don't understand?

AF: There's purple flowers. And red flowers.

DM: I think you hit your head... your horn is-- oh wow it's, broken right off. Eira! What happened to you?DM: Are you--dustyMoonlight [DM] she doesn't finish it, but she whispers it in her mind. Were these the dreams Eira talked about? Where she saw the Prince?

AF: There's red and purple and blue flowers. And Zach? And Umbra and Bastion. alpineFoxfire [AF] makes a soft whine as light flashes behind her eyes again, and as soon as the vision came, it was gone. She spent a few seconds looking at Umbra in confusion before struggling to scramble to her feet, as though extremely frightened. AF: Run

dustyMoonlight [DM] wide eyed, she watches her adoptive sister and slips her head under her chest, trying to help her up. DM: Run from what?? Eira what's going on?

alpineFoxfire [AF] still dazed, her vision seems like it's slipping in and out of focus. She allows her sister to help her up, not having the energy to fight off the attempt at help. AF: Monster

DM: Monster...? We have to find my mom. Can you walk?

alpineFoxfire [AF] 's legs are shaking but she tentatively tries to take a step forward. AF: A quiet monster. AF: Broke my antler.

DM: Was it a... we have big cats here, sometimes.. and bears and things like that..

AF: There have been monsters here a long time.

DM: C'mon, you need to lie down.

alpineFoxfire [AF] actually does what someone tells her to for once alpineFoxfire [AF] and kind of crumples into a sitting position and then curls up

dustyMoonlight [DM] blinks. Momentarily she forgets about the monster because this is way more important than impending doom. DM: Was it... a vision?

AF: The red flowers are covered in blood. AF: And I saw Alteron. AF: A lot of monsters.AF: I don't know what any of it means.

dustyMoonlight [DM] Ears twitch rapidly. She feels a stirring of excitement in her heart-- as well as fear, because once again she's reminded that something ATTACKED EIRA. Blue eyes glance around nervously DM: Let's... try to figure it out at home, after we see my mom, okay?

AF: It hurts a lot. I only see things when I'm hurting.alpineFoxfire [AF] struggles again to get to her feet

dustyMoonlight [DM] pushes her a bit harder than last time because she does not want to get eaten by monsters

alpineFoxfire [AF] shakily stands and hobbles forward

DM: Did you hurt when you saw Gideon?

AF: Yes. AF: It was after I lost my parents. My antlers were just growing. My antlers....alpineFoxfire [AF] tries to reach up to touch the broken, bleeding one, but has to put the paw back down to keep walking

DM: What happened to your horn? It's all bloody..

AF: Someone broke it

dustyMoonlight [DM] frowns

DM: What did they look like?

AF: Awful. Big.

DM: Maybe more descriptions.DM: What color? Was it a wolf? A bear?

AF: It had a white face. Black eyes.

DM: We can ask my mom...DM: How long were you lying there?

AF: I don't know. I saw a lot of things.

DM: #TraumaBabyDM: You were talking about stuff... Someone fell? And flowers?DM: Was it a... prophecy, like before?

AF: I don't know. I don't know. I don't want to see any more things, I don't know what any of it means.

dustyMoonlight [DM] Totally wants to know what all of it means, but mayybbeee this isn't the time to pry into Eira's spooky brain. DM: Okay... Um, we're almost there.

alpineFoxfire [AF] continued stumbling forward, leaning heavily on Umbra for support, blood and tears still soaking her face. AF: The red flower was the bad one. AF: Do you think the monster will come back? For the other one?

DM: We have a lot of red flowers here.. the roses, you know?DM: Um well if it does we won't be there.

AF: It wasn't here.

DM: Oh...dustyMoonlight [DM] she frowns DM: Eira where did you go?

AF: I don't know. I never know. But you were there too this time.AF: Do you think that means something bad will happen to you?

DM: I...dustyMoonlight [DM] well thats concerning DM: I hope not?DM: Do bad things happen to people you dream about??dustyMoonlight [DM] oh god how do i cope with this did she see my death

dustyMoonlight [DM] Helping in a bleeding, disoriented Eira into the mouth of the den. DM: Mother!!!!!!

alpineFoxfire [AF] looks into the den, blood and drying tears on her face, her eyes seeming to have trouble focusing. One antler is snapped off near the base and seeping blood.

fallingFreedom [FF] was inside the den, curled on a comfortable pile of leaves and moss. She was observing a pile of sticks not so subtlety hidden under a pile of rabbit fur, idly wondering what her children were up to when she heard the familiar voice of Umbra calling her name. fallingFreedom [FF] looked to the mouth of the den and watched her enter with Eira... who was missing an antler and bleeding. The sight immediately made her stand, albeit slowly. Unsurely. Her heart thundering like a loud, screaming shatter in her ears. FF: Eira. Umbra. What... what happened.

DM: Somebody beat up Eira and broke her horn. DM: And she saw a bunch of stuff and I might die. dustyMoonlight [DM] #JustAlteronThings

alpineFoxfire [AF] stumbles into the den towards Cuff AF: I keep seeing things. And it hurts.

fallingFreedom [FF] immediately rushes forward to meet her halfway, carefully ushering her towards the bed of leaves and moss. FF: Lie down. Don't... don't move. I need to... I need to figure out... fallingFreedom [FF] has a hard time looking away from the bleeding spot where Eira's antler used to be. She sniffed around the area carefully, confused, worried, paranoid, a nebula of emotions of warring inside of her. How bad was it? Was she dying? Was this her fault? fallingFreedom [FF] glanced at Umbra. She glanced at Eira. She glanced at Umbra again. FF: I don't know how bad this is. I may need to get the Surgeon... FF: ... Do you know who did this?

AF: I'm afraid its still out there. AF: It was big. With a white face. Black eyes.alpineFoxfire [AF] still shivered AF: I saw flowers. AF: And wolves.alpineFoxfire [AF] she stumbled over to where Cuff had directed her, onto the moss

DM: She said it was a monster. dustyMoonlight [DM] looks at Cuff. DM: Is Eira dying?

fallingFreedom [FF] is absolutely, and rightfully, confused. Neither girl is making any sense. She is no healer or warrior, but in that moment, as she stands over Eira, Cuff wishes desperately she were both. FF: Hush now. FF: She's going to be fine. fallingFreedom [FF] stares at the mouth of the den for something that does not appear. FF: No monster will get you while I'm here.

dustyMoonlight [DM] Settles next to the other girl, attempting to groom some of the blood off her face.

fallingFreedom [FF] slowly turns her attention back to them. FF: Eira... try not to fall asleep right now, even if you feel tired.

alpineFoxfire [AF] still stares in shock into nothing, into the blank side of the den, letting Umbra clean her face without what would usually be a strong protest

fallingFreedom [FF] draws near to inspect her injury again. If it's stopped bleeding, that could be a good sign.

AF: I saw so many flowers. And a river with bodies in it. In my vision.alpineFoxfire [AF] 's blood is beginning to clot at the site of the wound, though it's obvious that it still hurts the girl. She lowers her head to her paws.

DM: Do we have a body river here, mother?

fallingFreedom [FF] settles down to lie close, keeping her body closest to the mouth of the den. She gently noses Eira's cheek, comforting and scenting her. Perhaps, underneath all that blood, the scent of Eira's attacker is still there for her to memorize. For her to remember. FF: We don't. There aren't a lot of flowers, either.

fallingFreedom [FF] wishes she knew what to say to that. She helplessly nuzzles Eira in comfort instead, still struggling to think. FF: Umbra, did you see anything?

DM: Nuhuh.

FF: We're going to keep close to the den for awhile.FF: All of us.

DM: Okay...

AF: I don't know why he did it

dustyMoonlight [DM] kind of hopes the monster eats Aspen

AF: He just walked up to me, and broke it off and took it.

fallingFreedom [FF] falls very still for a moment when she hears this.

alpineFoxfire [AF] had often wished that her antlers were gone, that she could live her life without strange visions or painful headaches. But not like this. Now her whole body felt off balance, and like it was suddenly too light.

DM: Will it grow back?

AF: I don't know

FF: For deer... it's normal for their antlers to drop and grow back.FF: Perhaps it will be the same for you. fallingFreedom [FF] altnerates between cleaning the blood off Eira and watching the entrance of the den. If her attacker took her antler, she thinks, perhaps she will be able to track Eira's scent on it.

DM: Mom, are you going to fight the monster?

alpineFoxfire [AF] thought of the experience of her antlers growing in the first time, bone growing from her skull, piercing her skin, and then weighing her down. If her antlers regrew, it would be a blessing and a curse. AF: When Umbra asked the question, the little hellion looked up at Cuff, with a glimmer of worry. She didn't want Cuff to go find him. She wanted Cuff to stay away from him.

fallingFreedom [FF] watches her children watch her. Her children who she is responsible for. Her children who she swore to protect. FF: I'm going to find him.

AF: No, don'tAF: Please

FF: Not...FF: Not all monsters can be avoided, Eira.

AF: He can hurt you

DM: Mom's a big tough outrider.

alpineFoxfire [AF] pins back her ears AF: He can still hurt you...alpineFoxfire [AF] Eira wasn't sure why she was so dead set on Cuff not leaving to go find the wolf who did this to her. But if she were in a clear enough state of mind to examine the situation, it might be obvious - Cuff was the only parent she had left, and she'd already lost one family.

FF: Don't worry. Worrying is my job. FF: This won't be the first monster I've faced.fallingFreedom [FF] doesn't share that she's been hurt before, that the shadow of her own monster haunts her every day. That's not a secret any parent wants to share. FF: I'll be fine. It's my job as a mother to protect my children. FF: I won't leave right now though. It's okay. I'll stay here with you. fallingFreedom [FF] still had to wait for her other children to return, after all.

DM: What about the boys?

alpineFoxfire [AF] looks up at Cuff with uncertainty. Usually she'd argue with Cuff's statement, remind her that she was not her child, but right now Eira managed to stay quiet.

DM: Should someone go get them?

fallingFreedom [FF] would normally agree, but she was not ready to leave her two girls alone just yet. She wasn't willing to send Umbra after them, either. FF: No. They should be home soon. I'll call for them, in any case.fallingFreedom [FF] gives them both a kiss.

DM: You should tell them there's dinner. Then they'll run home so fast.

FF: I think you're right. fallingFreedom [FF] musters a smile, giving one last nuzzle to each before standing. She'll call them at the entrance of the den, but no further. Like Umbra, she has a feeling it won't take long for them to arrive. There is a certain gloom in her red gaze when she stares at Eira for one moment though. FF: I'm sorry I wasn't there for you. FF: I'll do better next time. FF: I promise.

FF: Rest now. I'll make sure the boys leave you be when they return. FF: Everything's going to be okay. FF: Thank you, Umbra.

DM: I didn't do anything. dustyMoonlight [CDM] sets her head on Eira's back

FF: You brought her back here, didn't you? FF: Take some credit, silly goose. fallingFreedom [FF] gives them one last smile, just a small one, before slipping out to stand outside. She'll call her sons and wait for them to return out there.

alpineFoxfire [AF] when Cuff steps outside, Eira glances over to Umbra laying beside her. AF: Thanks. alpineFoxfire [AF] then curls up even more tightly, wrapping her long tail around her, and tries to go to sleep despite the fact that her brain felt like it had been broken into pieces.

DM: It's okay. dustyMoonlight [DM] looks out at the entrance, wondering about flowers and rivers.

Logged

I felt the essence, I chased incandescent hopeEthereal world, take my soulI covered all the distance, took all directionsBetween two rivers, I’ve seen the land of coldWith both hands I grasped the frost and vanished in the oceanIn this labyrinth, I felt whole within the hissing roarsEthereal world, take my soul